This majestic mansion, with its unique architecture, is often called “Cái Nhà Lớn” (a big house) by locals and was built by Mr. Tran Nhue, a famous landlord in the area.
Not only a place to display artifacts, Kien Giang Museum (No. 27 Nguyen Van Troi, Rach Gia Ward, An Giang Province) is also the most beautiful ancient mansion of a feudal landlord in this area, still preserved to this day.
The house is built by Mr. Tran Nhue. Later, Mr. Tran Quang Chieu (the third son of Mr. Tran Nhue) inherited the house, so the building is also called Mr. Ba Chieu’s house.
The ancient mansion was started in 1911, inaugurated in 1920 with an area of about 2,000m², including the communal house (3 rooms, 2 wings), kitchen, living room, and Thien Tinh yard.
Built during the colonial period, influenced by French culture, the house has a unique “half-Western, half-Vietnamese” architecture.
The outside of the house is built in the style of a box house, decorated with Western-style architectural patterns, but the inside has the architecture of an ancient Vietnamese house.
The architectural quintessence of the house is concentrated in the main hall, built in a frame structure, made of red wood and rosewood…
The unique feature of the interior is expressed in the skillful, sophisticated carvings; the strong introverted trend, reaching out to integrate with nature to create a complete whole.
The decorative patterns are very rich, from traditional geometric shapes, flowers (pine, bamboo, chrysanthemum, ochna integerrima), birds (bats, peacocks, phoenixes, pheasants…), fruits (papaya, grapes, pomegranates…), vines, to animals (deer, elk…).
The soil for the house foundation is taken from the sea, and stone is used to make it. Also, it took 3 years to complete the foundation.
The house was built over 10 years by a team of masons and carpenters brought from Gia Dinh; the carvers were all skilled workers brought from the North.
The construction materials, such as wood, bricks, and tiles, were mainly purchased from the East. The floor tiles were imported from France.
This mansion has gone through many ups and downs in its 1 century of existence. In 1946, the French colonialists invaded Rach Gia and occupied the mansion. From then until 1954, the building was occupied by the Provincial Court.
In 1970-1973, the American advisory group in Rach Gia rented this house as the American Office.
From 1973-1975, the house was rented by a local company in Rach Soi as an office.
After 1975, the house was managed by the State, used for a short time as an office by the Kien Giang Provincial Women’s Association, and then handed over to the Department of Culture and Information’s art troupe as its headquarters.
Finally, this beautiful ancient mansion has been handed over to the Kien Giang Museum.
Source: collected by An
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